Good Fat, Bad Fat; Diabetes, No Diabetes
There are good fats, and there are bad fats. Knowing the difference is important, not only for heart health, but for many aspects of health, including diabetes. Lots of attention is paid to the polyunsaturated essential fatty acids, like omega-3’s, but, it turns out, monounsaturated olive oil should be getting more attention.
Previous recent research has shown that
At the beginning of the study, none of the women had diabetes. Over the next 22 years, researchers followed the women and kept track of the amount of olive oil they consumed.
The results show that consuming more than 1 table spoon of olive oil a day is associated with a 10% decrease in the risk of diabetes compared to women who did not use olive oil at all. That’s a lot of benefit from a simple tablespoon of olive oil. Eating more meant even more benefit: each additional tablespoon led to a further 6% drop in risk.
Interestingly, eating olive oil on bread or in food was even more powerful than eating olive oil in salad dressing. In salad dressing, olive oil reduced the risk by 5%, while putting it in food or on bread reduced the risk by 15%.
The researchers estimated that replacing margarine with olive oil reduces the risk of diabetes by 5%; replacing butter with olive oil reduces it by 8%; and replacing mayonnaise with olive oil reduces the risk by 15%.
Am J Clin Nutr 2015;102(2):479-86
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For more on healthy fats and healthy eating for diabetes, see Linda’s newest book, The All-New Vegetarian Passport: a comprehensive health book and cookbook all in one.
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